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Online Business: Planning for Success

Take your online business from ideation to implementation with one of four courses in the Online Business Success program.

27,002 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    4 weeks

  • Weekly study

    2 hours
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This free online course focuses on the planning phase of starting a small online business and will introduce what you need to do for clarity and action.

Understand online business and e-commerce

With so many ways to operate online, it is important that you understand what your business is and where it fits in. We’ll take you through the differences between various forms of online business models, to help you decide the best direction.

We will help you develop a business plan or business model canvas to focus your thinking on the best opportunities for your online business. You will understand how to use primary and secondary research to identify your most valuable customer.

By the end of the course, you will be ready to:

  • refine your idea;
  • identify your positioning;
  • develop your pitch;
  • create a business plan;
  • and prepare for implementation

Get expert online business advice

This course is one of four in the Online Business Success program from RMIT University. On every course, you will be guided by academics from the College of Business and the Business Enterprise Unit. Plus you’ll hear from successful online entrepreneurs about how they planned their online business.

Skip to 0 minutes and 6 seconds Planning for Success is one of four courses that is part of the Online Business Success Program. In this course, we focus on developing vital business planning skills. This will enable you to define what your business is and how to succeed in today’s competitive, online market. Through informative videos, you will hear from experienced academic leaders, as well as entrepreneurs who share their journeys in developing a successful online business. Throughout this course, you will follow Jordan and her desire to start her own online business. You will engage in discussions with other learners, collaborate, and help Jordan on her journey through business planning. Engaging interactive activities will help you to learn how to plan, pitch, prepare, and implement your business concept.

Skip to 1 minute and 3 seconds Join the community of business entrepreneurs and take the next step in planning your own online business.

What topics will you cover?

  • The many different forms of e-commerce and online small business
  • The qualities that an online entrepreneur need to possess to operate specifically in an online environment
  • Customer profiling techniques and how creating a customer persona can identify potential customers
  • The types of business planning tools available to use for business planning
  • External and internal factors that can affect online businesses
  • The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats while planning an online business
  • The regulations and insurances which online businesses must operate within globally
  • The effect that ethical and social responsibility has on a company’s image and values
  • The comparison between e-commerce platforms and the role payment gateways play in the consumer online shopping experience

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the value proposition in the online market place by comparing current market competition and trends
  • Develop a pitch by drawing upon a business idea and goals
  • Compare between the variety of online platforms and payment gateways to suit a specific business requirement or need
  • Apply business planning tools, including the business model canvas and business plan, to analyse and investigate the requirements needed to start an online business

Who is the course for?

This course is targeted at learners who are considering setting up an online business and wish to understand the planning processes involved in starting an online business, through listening to others who have gone through this process, learning theory and activities.

Who will you learn with?

Brett Stavenuiter

Brett Stavenuiter is an entrepreneur, business owner and business consultant with 25 years experience assisting over 5000 successful entrepreneurial business start ups in Australia and Indonesia.

Who developed the course?

RMIT University

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is a global university, with over 80,000 students, specialising in technology, design and enterprise.

  • Established

    1887

  • Location

    Melbourne, Australia

  • World ranking

    Top 210Source: QS World University Rankings 2022

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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Join the conversation on social media

You can use the hashtag #FLRMITPlanning to talk about this course on social media.